The Brood X, also known as the Great Eastern Brood, is a species of periodical cicada that will re-emerge after 17 years of living underground. Don’t worry, these large winged creatures are mostly harmless, although their buzz isn’t that pleasant to the ears. The cicadas will show up this spring in 15 states in the US:
“The end of May through June, it can get pretty loud – if you are in an area where they are numerous, there can be hundreds of thousands, or millions, of them,” said Howard Russell, an entomologist (insect scientist) at Michigan State University.
One of the largest broods of periodical cicadas in the nation, Brood X will emerge this spring in 15 states: Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, as well as Washington D.C.
Unlike greenish, annual cicadas, periodical cicadas are known for their black bodies and bold, red eyes. Their mass, in-unison emergence every 17 years is one of nature’s great mysteries.
But the bugs haven’t been in hibernation since their last mass appearance in 2004.
“They are always there, that’s what people don’t realize,” said John Cooley, an entomologist at the University of Connecticut who studies periodical cicadas.
Image via USA Today
ya the sound these things make is rough
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I heard cicadas for the first time when I visited my best friend after she & her family moved to Missouri in 2015. Never saw any, but certainly heard them. They were so loud you could hear them with the doors and windows closed and the tv on. The cicadas haven't been near as loud on subsequent visits.
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Umm, how the heck does South Carolina - located between Georgia and North Carolina - miss the cicada party?
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